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Paul Hollywood was paid more £100,000 to appear on charity episodes of the Great British Bake Off, it has emerged.

Celebrity contestants who appeared on the Stand Up To Cancer specials did not receive a penny as each of their entire fees was donated to the charity.

But presenters Hollywood, Prue Leith, Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig all pocketed cheques from the five special shows.

Channel 4 confirmed that while the contestants donated their whole fee to the campaign, the celebrities already under contract on the long-running show contributed only an undisclosed portion of their fee but declined to say what percentage.

A source at the broadcaster told The Sun: "It was up to them to decide what to donate.

"The show involved a big time commitment for filming several episodes and doing voice overs later.

"Celebrity contestants who took part, like Alan Carr and Harry Hill, weren't paid at all. Their fees went straight to the charity."

Hollywood, 52, is reportedly paid up to £23,500 per episode in his new contract , meaning he received a total of £117,500, for the five special shows, which concluded this week.

Last year, it was claimed that judge Prue Leith was paid £200,000, a series, which was up to three times more than the amount former judge Mary Berry earned, said to be £70,000-a-series.

Celebrity bakers from the second charity episode with judges and presentersCredit:
Mark Bourdillon

During the final episode of the charity specials, Carr, 41, who was ridiculed for making a snappable sponge, said: "At the end of the day it doesn't matter if your cakes taste delicious or they're rubbish, we're all doing it for Stand Up To Cancer.

"And 100 per cent of that money goes to the charity  100 per cent. What's not to love."

Other celebrities who took part included Desperate Housewives actress Teri Hatcher, comic Aisling Bea and athlete Kadeena Cox.

A Channel 4 spokesman said: “Our aim is to raise as much as possible for Stand Up To Cancer.

“All contributors donate their fee to the campaign. Those who are already contracted for long running series also make a significant donation to the SU2C campaign and as a result of their involvement millions have been raised to fund ground-breaking research that will save lives.”

A representative for Hollywood could not be contacted for comment.

Questions were subsequently raised about whether or not Bake Off stars were previously paid for Comic Relief specials on the BBC.

A representative for Mary Berry, 83, declined to say whether she had donated any of her payment.